Nearly 70,000 Indian Muslim clerics have signed a fatwa against Isis and other terror groups saying they were "not Islamic organisations".

Around 1.5 million Muslims visiting a shrine dedicated to a Sufi Islamic saint near the city of Ajmer in north western state of Rajasthan during the Urs religious festival have signed a petition against terrorist attacks.

Mufti Mohammed Saleem Noori, one of the clerics who signed the fatwa, told the Times of India: "From Sunday onwards, when the annual Urs began, members of Dargah Aala Hazrat have been distributing forms among followers seeking signatures to show that those signing stand against terrorism.

"Nearly 15 lakh (1.5m) Muslims have recorded their protest. Around 70,000 clerics from across the world, who were part of the event, passed the fatwa."

He called on media organisations to stop referring to the groups - including Isis, the Taliban and al-Qaeda - as “Islamic”.

Another cleric, Hazrat Subhan Raza Khan, said the decision had been made in the wake of the Paris attacks to spread out the message that the Muslim community condemns Islamist extremism.

Read more at The Independent.